Video Games and Greek Mythology
Posted on | July 10, 2008 |
Greek mythology has had a significant impact on all of the arts over the years. From authors, sculptors, poets, and painters to modern day screenwriters, the influence of mythology in the arts has been profound for thousands of years. In much more recent history, as technology as given us the benefit of interactive video games, Greek mythology has found a new home. Below are a couple notable examples.
Kid Icarus
When video games first started becoming readily available and popular in the United States, some of the first games were based on mythological Greek stories or characters. In 1986, Nintendo released a game called Kid Icarus on the Famicom system. A year later it was released on the critically acclaimed Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedalus, famous for unsuccessfully attempting to escape the island of Crete by flight. Ignoring his father’s advice and flying too high, the sun melted the wax wings his father had made him and he fell to his death. In the game, the main character “Pit” is loosely based on Icarus as well as Eros (Cupid, in Roman mythology). Pit is an angel assigned by Palutena, the Goddess of Light, to help her defeat Medusa, the Goddess of Darkness and her minions. After Palutena attempts to banish Medusa to the Underworld because of her hatred for mortals, Medusa declares war and the Palace in the Sky is in jeopardy. In 2003, IGN (International Gaming Network) declared Kid Icarus as #84 among the Top 100 Games of All Time.
God of War
Several years later in 2005, after video games had become drastically more sophisticated and advanced, Sony Computer Entertainment released God of War for the PlayStation 2 console. The protagonist of the game, Kratos, is purely fictional. However, much of the game’s design and storyline borrow from Greek history and Greek mythology. According to the story of the game, Kratos was a young Spartan captain, who devoted his life to doing the bidding of Ares, the son of Zeus, in exchange for saving his and his comrades’ lives during an intense battle they would have otherwise lost. Ares granted Kratos great power and bound his arms with long chains and swords. Ares then tricked Kratos into infiltrating and massacring an entire village that worshipped the Goddess of Heroic Endeavor, Athena. After the brutal attack, Kratos realized that in his frenzy he had killed his own wife and daughter. This was all according to Areas’ master plan to turn Kratos into a brutal killing machine. He then denounces Ares, and throughout the game seeks the guidance of several other mythological Greek gods and seeks his redemption.
Since the incredible success of the first God of War game, two sequels have been released as well as one mobile game based on the series, along with one prequel game for the PlayStation Portable. All of the God of War video games feature notable characters from Greek mythology.
Some other notable video games inspired by Greek mythology include:
- Heroes of Might and Magic (Series from ’95-present)
- The Battle of Olympus (1988, NES)
- Hercules Action Game (1997, PlayStation, PC)
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